5of 44A New York Times article uncovered multiple incidents of Harvey Weinstein's sexually harassment or abuse. Thousands of women embracing the #MeToo movement to own their histories of sexual harassment and abuse, and those issues swirling at high volume in the culture overall, parents are reaching for teachable moments in the post-Weinstein world.Photo: Chris Pizzello, Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

6of 44NBC News fired longtime "Today" show host Matt Lauer on Nov. 29, 2017, for "inappropriate sexual behavior," making him the second morning television show personality to lose his job because of sexual misconduct charges in a week.Photo: Richard Drew, AP

7of 44Louis C.K. has been accused of sexual misconduct toward several women, including masturbating in front of them to their horror and embarrassment, according to a report in The New York Times.Photo: Chris Pizzello, Associated Press

8of 44Kevin Spacey says he is “beyond horrified” by allegations that he made sexual advances on Anthony Rapp when he was a teen boy in 1986. Spacey posted on Twitter that he does not remember the encounter but apologizes for the behavior. Photo: Evan Agostini, Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

9of 44Sen. Al Franken has announced his resignation from the Senate in 2017 after accusations of sexual harassment. Leeann Tweeden, shown above, accused the senator of groping her while they were touring with the USO before Franken took office. Subsequent accusations were made for alleged actions while Franken was in office.Photo: Creighton Holub, Associated Press

10of 44The Washington Post says eight women have accused television host Charlie Rose of multiple unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate behavior. CBS News fired Rose and PBS is to halt production and distribution of his show following the sexual harassment report.Photo: Theo Wargo

11of 44Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., announced his resignation after an ethics inquiry into his discussion of surrogacy with female staffersPhoto: Carolyn Kaster

12of 44Pixar and Disney Animation chief John Lasseter is accused by several women of unwanted touching and has announced he is taking a six-month leave of absence. He has acknowledged some "missteps" with employees and apologized for any behavior that made workers uncomfortable.Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

13of 44James Toback, who received an Oscar nomination for writing "Bugsy," has been accused of sexual harassment by more than 30 women. He said: "anyone who says it is a lying c---r or c- or both ... Anyone who says that, I just want to spit in his or her f--g face."Photo: Richard Shotwell, Associated Press

14of 44Accused of patting seven women (including Heather Lind, pictured above) below the waist while posing for photos with them in recent years, well after he left office. The 93-year-old George H.W. Bush has issued repeated apologies through a spokesman "to anyone he has offended," with the spokesman noting that the former president uses a wheelchair and that his arm sinks below people's waists when they take photos with him.Photo: STF

15of 44Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon has been accused of sexual harassment by an assistant for his sports marketing firm, according to a lawsuit filed in California. The civil lawsuit was filed Monday in Orange County Superior Court. According to court documents, Wendy Haskell alleges Moon made "unwanted and unsolicited" sexual advances as part of her role as his assistant working for Sports 1 Marketing. Moon is the co-founder and president of the company.
Photo: Ira Strickstein/Houston Chronicle

16of 44U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore was accused of sexually assaulting two women decades ago when they were teenagers. About a half-dozen other women also have accused Moore of inappropriate conduct. Moore, a former state Supreme Court chief justice, has called the allegations "unsubstantiated," ''unproven" and "fake." He has rebuffed pressure from national Republican leaders to step aside; the state GOP is standing by him.Photo: Brynn Anderson, Associated Press

17of 44Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman says she is among the young women abused by a former USA Gymnastics team doctor. Raisman tells "60 Minutes" she was 15 when she was first treated by Dr. Larry Nassar, who spent more than two decades working with athletes at USA Gymnastics. He's now is in jail in Michigan awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.Photo: Robert Killips

18of 44Film director Brett Ratner has been accused by six women, including actress Olivia Munn, of harassment or misconduct in a Los Angeles Times report.Photo: Willy Sanjuan

19of 44Mark Halperin apologized for what he terms "inappropriate" behavior after five women claimed he sexually harassed them while he was a top ABC News executive.Photo: Richard Shotwell, Associated Press

20of 44In a report published Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, in the Los Angeles Times, model Keri Claussen Khalighi accused Russell Simmons of sexual misconduct in 1991 when she was 17 years old. Simmons denied the allegations in a statement.Photo: Chris Pizzello, INVL

21of 44Jenny McCarthy said on her Sirius XM show Nov. 9, 2017, that Steven Seagal sexually harassed her during an audition in 1995. A Seagal spokesman has denied the McCarthy’s accusations to The Daily Beast.Photo: Ivan Sekretarev, AP

22of 44CBS is investigating a sexual harassment allegation against Jeremy Piven. Actress and reality star Ariane Bellamar claimed in posts on her Twitter account that the Emmy-winning "Entourage" star groped her on two occasions.Photo: Richard Shotwell, Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

23of 44Author and humorist Garrison Keillor of "Prairie Home Companion" fame he has been fired by Minnesota Public Radio over allegations of improper behaviorPhoto: Leila Navidi

24of 44Former executive Michael Oreskes lost his job as National Public Radio newsroom chief following sexual harassment reports. Oreskes was vice president and senior managing editor at the AP from 2008 to 2015.Photo: Chuck Zoeller, AP

25of 44Chef John Besh stepped down from the restaurant group that bears his name after a newspaper reported that 25 current or former employees of the business said they were victims of sexual harassment.Photo: Edmund D. Fountain, For the Chronicle

26of 44Dustin Hoffman is apologizing for alleged sexual harassment of a 17-year-old intern in 1985. Writer Anna Graham Hunter alleges that the 80-year-old actor groped her on the set of TV movie “Death of a Salesman” and “talked about sex to me and in front of me.”Photo: Jordan Strauss, Associated Press

27of 44The BBC said Friday, Nov. 10, 2017, it is pulling a new Agatha Christie adaptation from its television schedule because of a sexual assault allegation against actor Ed Westwick. Westwick has strenuously denied the allegation.Photo: Dan Steinberg, Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP

28of 44Tom Wopat, the former star of "The Dukes of Hazzard," has been accused of indecently assaulting two female members of a musical in Massachusetts.Photo: AP

29of 44Trace Lysette, an actress on "Transparent," says the shows star, Jeffrey Tambor, pressed his body against hers in a sexually aggressive manner during filming and made inappropriate and unwanted sexual statements. Tambor denies the allegations saying he has never been a predator - ever."Photo: Willy Sanjuan

30of 44Robert Knepper was accused by one woman of sexual assault. He denies the allegations.Photo: Richard Shotwell, Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

32of 44Rolling Stone co-founder and publisher Jann Wenner was accused by one man of sexual harassment. He says he did not intend to make the accuser uncomfortable.Photo: Evan Agostini, Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Correction: An earlier version of this slideshow contained an incorrect photo. SFGATE regrets the error. Photo: Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic

34of 44New Republic editor Leon Wieseltier is accused of sexually harassing numerous women. Removed from the masthead of The Atlantic magazine. He has apologized for his behavior.
Photo: Dan Balilty, AP

35of 44New York Times White House reporter Glenn Thrush is accused of making drunken, unwanted advances on women. He disputes some of the accusations but has said he had had a drinking problem and apologized for "any situation where I behaved inappropriately."Photo: Kirk Irwin

36of 44Kentucky House Speaker Jeff Hoover stepped down as speaker this month after news surfaced that the Republican had settled a sexual harassment claim from a GOP caucus staffer. Hoover denied the harassment allegation but said he sent consensual yet inappropriate text messages. He remains in the Legislature.
Photo: Timothy D. Easley, AP

37of 44Florida Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Bittel, center, is accused of sexually inappropriate comments and behavior toward a number of women, Bittel resigned. Meanwhile, Democratic state Sen. Jeff Clemens resigned after a report that he had an extramarital affair with a lobbyist, and Republican state Sen. Jack Latvala is being investigated by the Senate over allegations of harassment and groping. Latvala has denied the allegations.
Photo: Patrick Farrell, AP

38of 44Director-producer Gary Goddard was accused by one man of sexually molesting him when the man was 12. He denies the allegation.Photo: Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

41of 44Mario Batali has taken leave from his restaurants and co-hosting duties on ABC's "The Chew" after the website Eater reported Monday, Dec. 11, 2017 that four women, all unnamed, have accused Batali of sexual harassment. In the wake of the allegations, the Food Network announced it is putting plans to relaunch his seminal show, "Molto Mario," next year on hold.Photo: Andy Kropa, Associated Press

43of 44Italian actress Asia Argento and Rose McGowan, right, who both accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, take part in a #MeToo march in December 2018. Argento denied on Aug 21, 2018, having had a sexual relationship five years ago with an underage teen.Photo: ALBERTO PIZZOLI, Contributor / AFP/Getty Images

44of 44Comedian Bill Cosby is jailed Sept. 25, 2018, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, after being sentenced to at least three years in prison and branded a "sexually violent predator" for assaulting a woman at his Philadelphia mansion 14 years ago. The 81-year-old, once beloved by millions as "America's Dad," is the first celebrity convicted and sentenced for a sex crime since the downfall of Harvey Weinstein ushered in the #MeToo movement and America's reckoning with sexual harassment. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty ImagesPhoto: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP/Getty Images

SACRAMENTO — In the latest sexual harassment case to shake up the Capitol, the state Senate ordered Sen. Bob Hertzberg to stop hugging co-workers after an investigation found that the veteran lawmaker engaged in several instances of unwanted hugging and touching of lawmakers and legislative employees.

The Senate released a report Thursday that showed that among the incidents investigators substantiated was a complaint from a male sergeant at arms who said that in 2016 Hertzberg backed into him and was “grinding” against him in a manner that was unwelcome and “offensive” to the employee.

But in another high-profile complaint by former Assemblywoman Linda Halderman, the investigators found that he hugged the lawmaker once in 2010 and did not find evidence to back her allegations that he repeatedly embraced her after she asked him not to. Investigators said Halderman, a Republican from Fresno, declined to be interviewed. The report makes no mention of her most serious allegation — that Hertzberg pinned her arms and pushed his groin into her during one unwanted hug in the Capitol hallway eight years ago.

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California State Sen. Bob Hertzberg is accused of inappropriately hugging and pressing his groin against a former state assemblywoman. Linda Halderman said she told Hertzberg not to hug her again, but he didn't listen.

Video: KCRA

In the written reprimand, the Senate Rules Committee told Hertzberg, a Democrat from Van Nuys, outright that he can “not initiate hugs” because he had previously been warned that this behavior was, at times, unwelcome. Further incidents could result in “more severe discipline,” the warning said.

“You cannot solve the problem by asking someone if a hug is unwelcome or welcome because a person may not feel comfortable telling you it is unwelcome,” stated the reprimand letter from the Rules Committee, which acts as the human resources arm of the Senate.

Hertzberg is a former Assembly speaker who was elected to the Senate in 2014. He is well known at the state Capitol for indiscriminately giving bear hugs, prompting the nickname “Huggy Bear.”

“I understand that I cannot control how a hug is received, and that not everyone has the ability to speak up about unwelcome behavior,” Hertzberg said in a statement. “It is my responsibility to be mindful of this.”

The four instances investigators substantiated, according to the report released Thursday, were:

• In 2010, Hertzberg “likely hugged” Halderman on one occasion “and likely hugged others on that day, as was his practice. The hug made her uncomfortable.”

• In 2015, Hertzberg hugged a female senator in a manner that made her uncomfortable, but did not continue when she asked him to stop.

• In 2015, Hertzberg hugged an assemblywoman in a way that made her uncomfortable on more than one occasion, but “he was not aware that the hugs were unwelcome.”

• In 2016, Hertzberg “danced briefly with his backside against a male Sergeant at Arms in a manner that was unwanted and made the Sergeant uncomfortable.”

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Investigators found several aggravating factors, primarily that Hertzberg had been previously warned by Senate leadership that his hugging and touching made others uncomfortable. In a 2015 case, the Senate warned Hertzberg that the “behavior should not be repeated,” according to documents released in February.

Hertzberg did not heed that warning, according to the report released Thursday.

“He should have taken this information more seriously,” investigators wrote. “Instead, he missed opportunities to understand that some people were genuinely troubled by his hugging.”

Investigators also pointed to a series of mitigating factors in his favor, including that they did not find his behavior to be sexually motivated in any of the instances. Investigators also said Hertzberg seemed “genuinely remorseful” and that many witnesses described his hugs as “friendly, warm and welcoming.”

But Halderman, in a text to The Chronicle on Thursday, said: “It would be best for everyone if, in the future, Bob Hertzberg kept his creepy hands to himself.” She declined to comment further.

The investigation into Hertzberg is among 14 cases that the Legislature has been probing in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which emerged at the Capitol in November when hundreds of women signed a letter saying sexual harassment and abuse are pervasive in Sacramento politics. Three lawmakers have resigned amid scandals: Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia (Los Angeles County), Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-San Fernando Valley, and Assemblyman Matthew Dababneh, D-Encino (Los Angeles County). All three have denied wrongdoing.

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens (Los Angeles County), took a voluntary unpaid leave as the Assembly investigates allegations of groping and sexual harassment against her. She denies the allegations.

Investigators substantiated allegations against Mendoza and Bocanegra. An Assembly spokesman said he could not comment on whether the investigation into Dababneh is ongoing despite his resignation.

The reprimand of Hertzberg stands in sharp contrast to its planned expulsion of Mendoza.

Mendoza resigned on the day the Senate planned to vote on whether to expel him. The investigation into allegations against Mendoza found he “more likely than not” engaged in unwanted sexual advances toward six women, including interns in his office. None of the women alleged that they’d had a sexual relationship with Mendoza or said he had been physically aggressive or sexually crude toward them, investigators said.

Mendoza filed a lawsuit against the Senate last month in which he says in part that he was discriminated against when he was stripped of his committee post and forced to take a paid leave while “another Senator, who is Caucasian,” a reference to Hertzberg, was not.

Hertzberg did not lose any of his committee posts and was not asked to take a leave of absence during the investigation, which was completed Feb. 20. Hertzberg is chair of the Senate Natural Resources and Water committee.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, explained the difference in how the cases were handled by saying the allegations against Mendoza and other lawmakers came from subordinates while those against Hertzberg came from his peers. In the the sergeant at arms case, Hertzberg does not oversee his employment.

Melody Gutierrez joined the San Francisco Chronicle in 2013 to cover politics from the Sacramento bureau. Previously, she was a senior writer who covered politics, education and sports for The Sacramento Bee.

With an emphasis on watchdog reporting, she has written investigative stories on pension spiking, high school steroid use, troubles in a school police force and how the state failed to notify a school district that a teacher was barred from foster care parenting due to multiple molestation allegations.

She has also examined the state’s use of segregation cells for prisoners, detailed legislative and legal efforts to curtail "revenge porn" and chronicled the effects of the drought in California.